Heidenau, a town in the eastern German state of Saxony, has banned the installation of Stolpersteine, the small brass plaques set into pavements to commemorate victims of National Socialism. Tagesspiegel reported the decision on Saturday, 26 September 2026.
The move has drawn strong criticism. Karin Prien, Germany's education minister, described the ban as a scandal, according to tagesschau.de. The Auschwitz Committee has used the same word, Tagesspiegel reports.
The Berliner Morgenpost quoted a critic saying the CDU had "broken through a firewall" with the decision. Gunter Demnig, the artist who created the Stolpersteine project, told Spiegel that the CDU's involvement was bitter.
The taz newspaper framed the development more broadly, describing it as a culture of forgetting in the commemoration of Nazi victims in Saxony.
Stolpersteine are laid into public footpaths, usually in front of the last address where a victim lived before deportation or death. The project is associated with Demnig, who has spoken out against the Heidenau ban.
The ban has become a national political issue, with a federal minister and a major Holocaust remembrance body both condemning it. Criticism has focused not only on the town's decision but also on the role of the CDU, which the Berliner Morgenpost and Spiegel both highlight.
It is not yet clear from the reporting whether the ban will be challenged or reversed. Watch for any response from Heidenau's local authorities and from Saxony's state government.
